On March 1, Rute (who had lost to Cote himself a week earlier in districts) turned the tables, riding a five-point Peterson roll to a 9-5 victory over the previously-unbeaten Blue Eagle for the Class 3A Northeast Region crown.

Rute's win led Easton over Nazareth for the regional team title.

Said Rute, "(The win) definitely ranks as a 10. It's right up there with any win I've had against one of our big rivals."

Turns out Rute brought the Peterson out of mothballs.

"My game is to take the other guy down, and not let him take me down," Rute said. But it was Cote, not Rute, who scored a key takedown for a 5-4 lead early in the third period, so it was time to dust off an old favorite.

"I used the Peterson a lot as a freshman and sophomore," Rute said. "But by last year, everyone was ready for it, so I hadn't used it in a long time. You don't plan on it. You just use it if it's there.

It was there.

Despite his loss to Cote a week earlier, Rute knew he was in the same league. "I beat Andy twice as a junior," he noted. "So I knew I could do it again if I wrestled my match and didn't let him dictate."